Mr. Peanut to Appear in His First Super Bowl Commercial

The monocle-wearing Mr. Peanut is about to offer snack fans an entirely new lens on Super Bowl advertising.

Planters, which has featured the anthropomorphic legume for more than a century as its spokes-character, will place him in a 30-second ad slated to appear in the second quarter of CBS’ broadcast of Super Bowl LIII on February 3.

Planters ran a commercial in the gridiron classic about a decade ago, says Luke Cole, who leads marketing for Kraft Heinz’s snacks and deserts portfolio, but “the metrics, all the research tells us Mr. Peanut is just loved by everyone. He resonates well with our target,” says the executive. “This is one of the biggest snacking days of the year,” he adds, so “it makes perfect sense to be in the Super Bowl at that time and connect with our audience.”

Executives behind the Kraft Heinz brand aren’t leaving much to chance, however. A celebrity whom Cole declined to name will also take part in the commercial, ensuring that the whole ad venture isn’t entirely dependent on the character’s shell. Viewers will see the ad mascot riding what Cole called a “nut-mobile” and play up the benefits of eating nuts. The tagline: “Always there for you at crunch time.”

The commercial is crafted by the independent agency VaynerMedia.

Planters joins a roster of Super Bowl sponsors that includes Anheuser-Busch InBev, PepsiCo, Audi, and WeatherTech. CBS has been seeking between $5.1 million and $5.3 million for packages of inventory that typically include a 30-second spot and some digital commercials.